John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester: Man

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester was English poet, and peer of the realm. Explore interesting quotes on man.
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester: 68 quotes2 likes

“Here lies our sovereign lord the king,
Whose word no man relies on;
He never says a foolish thing,
Nor ever does a wise one.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

Written on the Bedchamber Door of Charles II, as quoted in The Book of Days : A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities (1832) by Robert Chambers, Viol. II, July 26, p. 126.

“Were I, who to my Cost already am
One of those strange, prodigious Creatures Man,
A Spirit free, to choose for my own Share,
What sort of Flesh and Blood I pleas’d to wear,
I’d be a Dog, a Monkey, or a Bear,
Or any thing, but that vain Animal,
Who is so proud of being Rational.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

ll. 1-7.
A Satire Against Mankind (1679)

“We have a pretty witty king,
Whose word no man relies on;
He never said a foolish thing,
Nor ever did a wise one.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

About King Charles II of England, as quoted in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine Vol. XLIV (January - June 1857) p. 592; It is said to that this was written on the door of Charles II’s bedchamber, and that on seeing it, the king replied, “This is very true: for my words are my own, and my actions are my ministers’....”
Other

“For pointed satire I would Buckhurst choose,
The best good man with the worst-natured muse.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

An allusion to Horace, Satire x. Book i. Compare: "Thou best-humour'd man with the worst-humour'd muse!", Oliver Goldsmith, Retaliation, Postscript.
Other

“But a meek humble Man of modest Sense,
Who, Preaching Peace, does practice Continence;
Whose pious life’s a proof he does believe,
Mysterious Truths, which no Man can conceive.
If upon Earth there dwell such God-like Men,
I'll here Recant my Paradox to them;
Adore those Shrines of Virtue, homage pay,
And, with the rabble world, their Laws obey.
If such there are, yet grant me This at least,
Man differs more from Man, than Man from Beast.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

ll. 212-221
A Satire Against Mankind (1679)

“It is a good world to live in,
To lend, or to spend, or to give in;
But to beg or to borrow, or to get a man's own,
It is the very worst world that ever was known.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

Epigram, sometimes attributed to John Bromfield
Other

“The Elephant is never won with Anger,
Nor must that man, who would reclaim a Lion,
Take him by the teeth.”

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

Valentinian (1685), Act I, Scene III
Valentinian was Rochester's adaptation of a play (ca. 1610-1614) by John Fletcher
Other